It almost didn't happen. Weeks before Sterling, New York's famous Renaissance Festival was scheduled to open its gates, the management found itself lacking the US $300,000 needed to operate the faire. The public raised money and a bank came through with a loan, but the event's future is still uncertain. Sarah Blazonis of Time Warner Central NY has the story.

Sterling is different from other renaissance faires because of its many permanent structures. "There's all the property repairs and maintenance, there's the insurances, there's the year-round staff that we require, a number of these factors kind of came together, but the amount of money we needed wasn't out of the norm," said owner Doug Waterbury.

But people love the faire and want to return. "It's just a totally different atmosphere, it takes you away from the electronics of everyday," said Michelle Rivers, visiting the festival from Syracuse.